Code Geass: "The Day a Demon Awakens" Review

Season 2 opens with a boatload of mysteries.

After a stunning conclusion to season one, Code Geass: R2 has a lot to live up to, and a lot to explain. But this episode, just like its predecessor, leaves us with more questions than answers.

We get caught up on the story relatively quickly. It's one year after the events of the last episode. The Black Knights are down to only 7 soldiers; the rest have been arrested or are on the run. Zero is listed as having been executed. Life seems to have returned to normal at Ashford Academy. Lelouch suddenly and inexplicably has a younger "brother" named Rolo, and he seems to have forgotten his role in the rebellion. Time skips always introduce an element of initial confusion, but this episode really opens with a "What the hell happened?" feeling because we just got done with a cliffhanger. Cliffhanger + time skip = WTH. Some will say that the effect was different in the original Japanese airing because so much time passed between seasons, and the confusion does add an element of suspense, but it's still an odd way to start off a new season.

The Empire's anti-Japanese sentiment seems to be just as bad as always, along with the brutality of the Imperial forces. One of the most hardcore scenes of the episode is when the Imperial forces come in to clean up the bodies from the slaughter and Lelouch says, "Stop it, that woman's still alive!". The only reply is a BLAM BLAM! Ouch.

Kallen serving as an undercover bunny-girl waitress is a nice surprise and a clever way to insert a little fan service, and she busts out some serious butt-kicking moves in that bunny suit. More high-kicks, please.

Much like the first episode of season one, in this installment Lelouch plays chess to show his superiority and give us a peek into his mind. In fact, the structure of this episode is quite similar to the pilot, with C.C activating Lelouch's Geass, which he then uses to kill a group of Britanian soldiers. This was certainly done on purpose—perhaps for thematic reasons, perhaps because the show runners wanted to make it easy for new viewers to get into the show. For folks that remember the pilot episode, there was definitely a feeling of déjà vu here, and that quite honestly was kind of cool, regardless of the reason for it.

The show ends with Suzaku standing before the emperor, vowing that he shall be the one to kill Zero. We're left still wondering how that showdown from last season's ending worked out. This is either frustrating or titillating, depending on how patient you are. The end credits sequence, which sports some very pretty artwork, was about a minute shorter than it was in the original Japanese version. It was presumably cut to make time for more commercials.

Despite the aforementioned minor rough spots, the episode is certainly brilliantly animated and directed, as most of the series has been. But it leaves us hoping that the next installment gives us a little bit more information.